The present invention relates to a massage chair which is provided with a device for massaging hands and arms of a user on armrests.
Massage chairs provided with a seating surface, a backrest and armrests and having a device for massaging hands and arms of a user provided on the armrests have been widely known (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 2003-180773, 2003-180774 and 2003-153970).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-180773 discloses armrests having standing walls provided on the opposite sides of each armrest along the widthwise direction of the arms and capable of massaging the hands and arms of a human body through the expansion of air bags by means of compressed air. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-180774 discloses armrests having a standing wall formed at one side of each armrest along the widthwise direction of the arms and having an arcuate cross section, and capable of massaging the hand and arm of a human body through the expansion of air bags by means of compressed air. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-153970 discloses armrests having a standing wall provided at one side of each armrest along the widthwise direction of the arms and capable of massaging the hands and arms of a human body through the expansion of air bags by means of compressed air.
A problem residing in the prior art is that the standing wall(s) is/are provided at one or both sides of each armrest and the user feels tight and cannot relax because the user can place his/her arms on restricted positions of the armrests even when he/she does not use an arm massaging function. Further, since the massage is given by the standing walls defining grooves having a fixed width, the massage feeling differs depending on the thickness of the user's arms. Further, the massage feeling is soft because the hands and arms are massaged by surfaces and some users may feel unsatisfied. Furthermore, since the massage is given by the standing walls at the opposite sides, the massage feeling from the upper side of the arms is weak.